Surrey Board of Trade

 Advocacy: The Pillar of Expression and Representation

 Report to the Surrey Board of Trade 2010

- Ray Hudson, Policy Development and Communications Manager

Advocacy is one of the four pillars of the Surrey Board of Trade where the “Voice of Business” in Surrey speaks to the major issues of the day which affect our business community.  Further, the role of our advocacy is to be proactive, researching and identifying the issues which will become of critical concern to our membership, and developing a policy position to speak to the appropriate levels of government.

We are continuously interacting with the City of Surrey and various local jurisdictions, and federal and provincial agencies and regional bodies.

We publish our perspectives through letters to the editor, media releases, opinion pieces and articles to the various regional and provincial newspapers and broadcasters, as well as through our own monthly publication, Business in Surrey. (Ray Hudson, Editor, Don Summers Associate Editor.)

Finally, we represent our membership through various policy submissions, to the Provincial government by direct contact, and to the federal government, through the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and direct contact. The Surrey Board of Trade is both your advocate, and your hidden employee, to help you pursue your business whether in Surrey or anywhere else in the world.

In order to streamline and organize our advocacy issues, we have identified and commissioned seven Advocacy Teams in the following areas:

• Crime & Justice, chaired by SBoT Vice-President Mary-Lou McCausland, and  Executive Director, Surrey Crime Prevention Society   
• Environment  chaired by Melanie Holden, Deputy Chief Librarian, Surrey Public Library
• Finance & Taxation, chaired by Eric Wilson, CA, partner with BDO Dunwoody  LLP
• Industry, chaired by Jane Adams, President and CEO, Surrey Memorial Hospital Foundation
• International Trade, chaired by Mary Jane Stenberg, Kwantlen Polytechnic University
• Social Policy, chaired by Penny Priddy, former MLA (Health Minister), Surrey Councillor, and Member of Parliament
• Transportation & Infrastructure, chaired by Richard Driver, SBoT Director and Manager with Finning Canada

These Teams and various issue-oriented task forces deal with specific Advocacy tasks, reporting to the Board of Directors (the committee of the whole) through the Vice President responsible for this pillar, Mary-Lou McCausland.

Serving this process guided by the Board of Trade staff under CEO Anita Huberman, is Ray Hudson, Policy Development and Communications Manager.  We also work directly in the municipal, regional, provincial and federal issue areas of Economic Development, where issues are of a wider scope and require handling directly by staff through the board of directors.

Read the entire report

SBoT Position on Education and Business

In April, the Surrey Board of Trade Director’s passed a position paper, as composed by the SBOT’s Social Policy Team, chaired by Penny Priddy. The paper speaks to why education (both K-12 and post-secondary) is important to business.

This is not simply an ask for money from the government. There isn’t a lot of money in government – and we can’t keep asking the government for just money. We need to have a collaborative approach together with business, educational organizations and government. This is a paper that states that education is important for the future of Surrey and in fact for all businesses in our nation. You can read the paper here.

Comments on Draft Regional Growth Strategy

The Surrey Board of Trade submitted a response to Metro Vancouver’s draft Regional Growth Strategy.  We agreed with the intent of this document, however, we had some concerns and have put forward recommendations which have been developed in consultation with our Board of Trade and Chamber of Commerce colleagues in the region. You can read the document here.

Input on future of Pension Plans

 Recent Comments on Federal and Provincial Budgets

Federal Budget Cautious Bridge To Better Economy
The 4th Budget from the Harper Government has laid out solid plan which will stay the course in the short run with respect to stimulus, $19 million, while moving into a recovery mode, a sustainable economy and a balanced budget by 2016.

Stay the Course Budget is the Right Decision
The Surrey Board of Trade believes this week's provincial budget is the right one for the times. This stay-the-course budget will move the government back to surplus territory according to their plans, in the next three years.  We are pleased to see the level of confidence the government has that the economy is indeed on the mend, and that anticipated revenue increases will allow the government to be less fiscally restrictive than expected.

 Position on Bill 18: Assistance to Shelter Act

The Surrey Board of Trade believes that no one ever again should see the kind of tragedy that occurred last year in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver. We believe that the success of this initiative will depend very much on the local resources that are in place. We need a sufficient number of low barrier shelters, where people can take their belongings and pets, to increase the likelihood that more people would willingly seek shelter in the event of extreme weather conditions.

The challenge outside Vancouver, including in Surrey, is that there may not be the number and variety of shelter beds available when extreme weather warnings are issued.

Read more in our press release about some of the issues involved in this strategy on homelessness.

Federal Advocacy

 All members of the Surrey Board of Trade are also members of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce (CCC), and can provide feedback on issues of federal significance as researched by the CCC. If you have any feedback or comments on these or other federal issues please email our Policy Manager, Ray Hudson, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Federal Advocacy Documents:

1. Corporate Accountability for the activities of mining, oil or gas corporations in developing countries act
2. Air Passenger's Bill of Rights
3. Climate Change
4. Employment Insurance
5. Reforming Canada's Employment Insurance System
6. Shared Border of the Future
7. Crime Resolution

SBoT Presentation to the City of Surrey on the 2010 Budget

On November 3, 2009, the Surrey Board of Trade took part in the City of Surrey's pre-2010 budget planning process. The City’s Financial Plan is the result of its longer term vision and strategies of moving toward the development of BC’s largest city.There are areas, as in all urban centres, that need to be continuously monitored. The presentation addresses issues in crime reduction, town centres, tax rates, transportation and the environment. You can read the entire presentation here.

Whalley Crime Reduction Issues Business Breakfast

On July 17 2009, the Surrey Board of Trade and the Downtown Surrey Business Improvement Association hosted a session a the Compass Point Inn to discuss crime issues affecting business. Representatives of the City, RCMP and various businesses lead the discussion about concerns and how to move on with the City's Crime Reduction Strategy. You can read the audio notes in an Acrobat pdf we've prepared.

Report to the Surrey Board of Trade 2009 -  Ray Hudson

Presented at the 2009 AGM

Advocacy is one of the four pillars of the Surrey Board of Trade where the “Voice of Business” in Surrey speaks to the major issues of the day that affect our business community.  Further, the role of our advocacy is to be proactive, researching and identifying the issues which will become of critical concern to our membership, and then developing a policy position to speak to the appropriate levels of government on these.

We are interact continuously with the City of Surrey, the various jurisdictions (such as Business Improvement Associations) and agencies such as TransLink, the Canadian Border Services Agency) of the region, Metro Vancouver, the Province of BC and the Federal Government. 

The various vectors of our concern include various public and private forums, meetings with other Chambers of Commerce and Boards of Trade (such as the Vancouver and Burnaby Board of Trade, the Richmond, Langley and Abbotsford Chambers, among others), presentations to various committees such as the standing committees of Finance, federally, provincially and municipally, the Standing Committee on Crime and Justice, The Dialogues on the Sustainable Regions Initiative, direct meetings with members of the city council, MLAs and MPs.  

We publish our perspectives through letters to the editor, opinion pieces and articles to the various regional and provincial newspapers and broadcasters, as well as through our own monthly publication, Business in Surrey (Ray Hudson, Editor; Don Summers, Associate Editor).

Finally, we represent our membership through various policy submissions, directed to the federal government through the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. The Surrey Board of Trade is both your advocate and your hidden employee, to help you pursue your business in this city. 

In order to streamline and organize our advocacy issues, we have identified and commissioned seven Teams under the following areas:

• Crime & Justice, chaired by SBoT Vice-President Mary-Lou McCausland, who is also the Executive Director of the Surrey Crime Prevention Society 
• Environment  chaired by Melanie Holden, Deputy Chief Librarian, Surrey Public Library
• Finance & Taxation, chaired by Eric Wilson, CA, partner with BDO Dunwoody  LLP
• Industry, chaired by Jane Adams, President and CEO of the Surrey Memorial Hospital Foundation
• International Trade, chaired by Rue Baines, Editor of the Indo Canadian Times
• Social Policy, Chaired by Penny Priddy, former MLA (Health Minister), Surrey Councillor, and Member of Parliament
• Transportation & Infrastructure, chaired by Richard Driver, SBoT Director and Manager with Finning Canada

These Teams and various task forces, instituted time to time to deal with specific Advocacy tasks, report to the Board of Directors (the committee of the whole) through the Vice President responsible for this pillar.
 
Serving the process under the direction of CEO Anita Huberman are Ray Hudson, Policy Development and Communications Manager, and Don Summers, Communications Assistant.   We work, additionally, in the wider ranging advocacy  area in the municipal, regional, provincial and federal topic areas of Economic Development.

Read the full report and learn more about our teams. If you are interested in participating, contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

City Budget Report Card

One of the purposes of the Surrey Board of Trade (SBOT) is to monitor public sector spending, suggest how to maximize the productivity of the local economy, and encourage growth in the private sector.

Our advocacy efforts include seven individual Task Teams all working on local business issues. As well, SBOT works in earnest to maintain a healthy working relationship with City, Provincial, and Federal Governments. “The Voice of Business” is not only loud and clear at the City and Provincial levels, but federally through the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.

SBoT recently sent a letter to City Council, reflecting on tax and budget issues that affect business in Surrey. The focus was on 10 messages that our organization believes are important. 

Building a Business Environment to Benefit all of Canada

The Surrey Board of Trade is part of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, and they have an ongoing commitment to foster a strong, competitive, and profitable economic environment that benefits all Canadians. The Canadian Chamber is launching an Economic Policy Series,  written by their Chief Economist, Tina Kremmidas. The series deals with public policy issues facing Canada today. The reports are not specific recommendations, but hope to stimulate public discussion and debate about the Canada's challenges. Two current reports are available from the Canadian Chamber site:

A Carbon Tax vs Cap-and-Trade

Immigration: The Changing Face of Canada

Send your thoughts to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

ADVOCACY SOUTH OF THE FRASER
 – report to the Surrey Board of Trade Annual General Meeting, June 2007.

It was another busy year, and we’ve increased the intensity of our advocacy to make our membership’s needs clear on the issues which have the greatest impact on our businesses.

Governments and agencies now do planning and decision making with the knowledge of what the Surrey & South Fraser business community thinks and needs.

That shows up in the number of high-profile people seeking to speak at our functions, and in the number of invitations for the Surrey Board of Trade and its members to participate in a much wider array of planning meetings.

Our profile is strong and recognized, and that is achieved through advocacy. It’s very hard to measure, but it is the stature and perceived importance of our organization which attracts and maintains membership.

Critical advocacy issues include:

Transit, where we:

• participated in planning sessions for south Fraser
• lobbied for many, many more buses
• stated our case for community rail
• re-entered the parking tax fray when it arose this year
• lobbied for equity in resources in the region versus taxes extracted
• sent a message to Vancouver – forget about Skytrain to UBC or the Arbutus corridor until you’ve fixed our region – period!

• Kevin Falcon, and he says the SFPR is a go.
• Lawrence Cannon Federal Transport Minister and David Emerson, International Trade & Gateway Minister – they committed more money to the Gateway